The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-09-23
THE ANARCHIST MAD-DOGs.

of their fellow Anarchists might render their
execution absolute necessity. 1t certainly
will become if their fool friends persist in
the course they have been pursuing. The
issue they seem anxious to enforce on the
American people is one of executing the con-
victs or basely surrendering to the clamor of
the Anarchist mob. The they are
pursuing is calculated to close and bar the
door against any possibility of mercy for the
condemned men. AT the New York meeting,
the other night, one Shevitch said eff these
men are executed it would prove the Ameri-
people were cannibals." Johann Most
said: "The judges of Illinois have charged
that these men are revolutionists. Suppose
they are What is this whole government
but revolutionary oneP 1t will be no more
revolution to abolish white slavery than it
was to abolish black slavery. II this is revo-
luton | am revoutionist. prophecy moth
ing, but if hung these men will be reveEged."
Another speaker said: eff there must be
some hanging done, why not hang the owners
of great factories, where they kill the life of
men, of women and of children9 l would
therefore advise them not to be too quick
with that hanging business Take care. Be-
ware. The people-the downtrodden people
can erect thousands of gallows. We do
not ask for bloody revolution, but if it must
come we will accept it. These men shall not
be hanged. It must not, it shall not be-"
There more of the same sort. If these
blatant rascals think the American people
can be intimidated by such insane rawlings
they are greatly mistaken. On the contrary,
the effect will be to solidify public opinion in
favor of the execution and to make the exer-
else of clemency impossible. The fact is, the
question mas got to be met now, and
fought out under the law, whether
society is strong enough to protect itself
by legal methods against those who plot its
destruction. The friends of the Anarchists
talk of carrying the case to the Supreme Court
of the United States and perhaps have
already employed counsel to do so. This is
their right, and is legal method of procedure.
If the Constitution and laws of the land pro-
vide way for taking the case to the Supreme
Court, let it go there, and let us have a de-
cision from the highest tribunal settling the
question once for all. If there has been any
mat erial error in the proceedings or in the
construction and application of the law, let it
be made known. IT, on the other hand, the
law has been rightly and truly expounded, let
it be so declared by the conclusive utterance
of our highest court, so that all men for all
time may know the legal status Of anarchism
in the United States. There is no objection
to the case going to the Supreme Court if the
law provides way for taking it there; but
there are very great and very strong objec-
tions to the incendiary rawlings of the Anarch-
lists friends, and their obvious tendency is to
make the execution Of the condemned men
inevitable.
WALTER VRooMAN, the New York Socialist
who spoke in that city the other night in
favor of the Chicago Anarchists, said; "When
we Or otest against the murder of these seven
men protest also against direct attack on
the safeguard of our liberties-freedom of
speech-and freedom Of speech must be upheld
in this country" 1t is by such sophistries
as this that the friends of the Anarchists en-
deavor to mislead unthinking people. The
question of the freedom of speech is not in
volyed in the Chicago case. The question is
whether a man shall be held legally response
BILE for the natural and direct results of his
speech. A man may advise and instigate
murder, and if murder follow he will not
be molested in the enjoyment of the utmost
freedom of speech; but if his advice be fol-
lowed and murder done, he shall be held re-
sponsible for the words as participant in the
crime. The Anarchists and their friends,
caitiffs and towards as they are, demand the
right to advise murder and assassination from
! beneath the cover of "free Speech" and leave
to condign punishment the wretches who
carry their advice into effect. Murderous
words may be as criminal murderous acts;
at al! events, NJ person who. incites and in
stigates others to commit murder has any
right to evade the just responsibility Of his
words by invoking the sacred protection of
free speech. The socialistic rabble in New
York and elsewhere who are now denouncing
the courts and the laws of the country, and
bowling for the release of the Chicago con-
victs. demonstrating that freedom of
speech does exist to the fullest extent in their
own cases. The freedom of speech they are
exercising shows that every one of them is a
fit subject for the penitentiary the gallows,
and if their words take the form of action it
is to be hoped they will find their way to one
place or the other.
AN article in the Journal, yesterday, rela-
tive to discriminating railroad rates against
indianapolis gave the rate on cattle from